Product Description

Providing an accessible introduction to the people who lived along the Nile for almost 35 centuries, this collection of essays presents studies of ancient Egyptians arranged by social type - slaves, craftsmen, priests, bureaucrats, pharaohs, peasants and women. From the text the reader learns, for example, that Egyptian peasants could not afford burial (their corpses were abandoned on the desert fringe), and that it wwas the bureaucrats who made the Egyptian system work (the pyramids could not have been built without them). The portraits of individuals merge to create a larger picture of Egyptian culture, state and society. The framework of the Egyptian state, in particular, is touched upon in each essay, describing the meticulous administration and well-organized hierarchical system which fostered centuries of stability and prosperity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1130791 in Books
• Published on: 1997-06-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 378 pages

Customer Reviews

Remarkable work, but not for beginners
Being a beginner myself, I can't say that I enjoyed this book as an introduction to the Egyptians. The lack of a timeline and the assumtpion by writers that the reader is accustomed to the history of Ancient Egypt makes it difficult for someone who doesn't have a proper grasp of the ancient Egyptians' era to enjoy the reading. However, the portrait it gives of the various social groups which made up the Egyptian world is quite remarkable and can be enriching for any reader, even the unexperienced ones.